The land area that became Carbondale was developed by William and Maurice Wurts, the founders of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, during the rise of the anthracite coal mining industry in the early 19th century. Carbondale was the site of the first deep vein anthracite coal mine in the United States. It was also a major terminal of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad.

Like many other cities and towns in the region, Carbondale has struggled with the demise of the once-prominent coal mining industry that had once made the region a haven for immigrants seeking work so many decades ago. Immigrants from Wales, England, Scotland, Ireland, and from throughout continental Europe came to Carbondale in the course of the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries to work in the anthracite and railroading industries.

Notable "firsts"

1829: the Delaware and Hudson Gravity Railroad from Carbondale to Honesdale began operations on October 9, 1829. This was the first commercially successful railroad to operate in America.

1833: the first Saint Patrick's Day parade in what is now Lackawanna County is held in Carbondale, as stated in the Scranton Times-Tribune: “It comes as no surprise that the Irish people of Carbondale would want to celebrate the patron saint of their homeland. [. . .] The Feb. 28, 1833, issue of the Northern Pennsylvanian, the first newspaper published in Carbondale, contained a notice to “Hibernians” of a public meeting to be held [. . .] ‘for the purpose of taking measures to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.’ [. . .] The Carbondale parade is the first one mentioned in any history of the region that is now Lackawanna County.”

1850: the first eisteddfod (a Welsh musical and literary festival) in America was held in Carbondale on Christmas Day, 1850. Among the literarians and musicians who attended were Daniel Davies, Rev. John Moses, Thomas Eynon, Rev. Thomas J. Phillips, and Edward Jones. These were the pioneer eisteddofdwyr of America.

1851: Carbondale was incorporated as a city in Luzerne County on March 15, 1851, making it the oldest city (the "Pioneer" city) in what later became Lackawanna County, and the fourth oldest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

1853: the first lodge in America of the ancient Welsh fraternal order of Ivorites was opened in Carbondale in the fall of 1853; the first public Ivorite celebration in America took place in Carbondale in August 1855, when a procession and other public exercises took place, under the direction of Thomas Voyle, Esquire, chief marshal, and Edward Roberts, Esquire.

Ed Wade, born 1956, Major League Baseball executive who served as Vice President and General Manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, 1998-2005 and the Houston Astros, 2008-2011. Credited with putting together the Phillies' core nucleus that led to the team's World Series Championship in 2008.